The 24hr stream can be a daunting task, but it’s one that many professional streamers have done before. What are the dos and don’ts of this type of streaming? Find out in this article!
10 Things To Keep In Mind For A 24hr Stream
1. Do Your Research Before Starting Your Stream
There is nothing worse than not doing any research on what game you are streaming/uploading to your channel and then finding out that most people aren’t interested in watching it. If that happens, you can believe you will be extremely disappointed with the whole thing and might not want to continue streaming/uploading.
If you have one game you consistently play on your channel then that’s probably the game that your viewers will expect to see during your 24 hr stream so stick with that. However you may be able to pick up some crazy viewers on game launch days by pulling of a 24 hour stream.
If a game is coming out that you think your audience may be interested in it can be a good idea to use this guide to getting games a day early allowing you to pick up a large audience of viewers searching for content around the game.
Ultimately just know exactly what you will be playing throughout the 24hr stream.
2. Do Get Some Good Sleep The Night Before
If this is the first ever time you have stayed up for 24 hrs straight it may be harder than you think. Gaming for 24hrs can really take it out of you and it’s almost guaranteed that you will start to feel tired nearing the end of your stream.
Make sure the night before you get a good rest. I would also recommend starting you 24hr stream directly after you wake up in the morning as this means you won’t have to stay awake much longer than the 24hrs.
3. Do Have Friends & Commentators Join You
Now, this varies from game to game but I believe having at least one commentator or friend play with you during your 24-hour stream is the best way forward. Having someone else there to talk about the game, strategies, tricks you can try… It does help! If you are doing a Pokemon speed run, for example, make sure someone is commentating along with you because otherwise watching 5 hours of commentary from yourself will be boring to watch for both you and everyone else.
4. Do Create A Schedule For Your 24 Hour Stream
You’ll want to make sure you have enough content before starting your marathon. You don’t want to run out of things to say or do halfway through the day. Before starting your 24-hour stream it is a good idea to create a schedule of what will be happening and when.
It’s important to let viewers know beforehand so that they can see how long the stream is going to be and plan accordingly. Create time slots for times such as start, food breaks, streaming games, power naps, and end. Use a 24-hour clock to help viewers understand the schedule. You can use these guide to add a countdown timer to your stream showing how long is left on your 24hr challenge.
5. Do Interact With Your Viewers As Much As Possible During The Stream
An important part of a successful 24-hour stream is to interact with your viewers as much as you can. This will keep them feeling a part of it while keeping them watching. Some methods of how to interact with your viewers can include:
- At the beginning of your stream, introduce yourself and do a quick run-through of what’s going to happen during your 24-hour live stream
- Answer questions that come up in the chat as you go about doing whatever it is that you’re doing for that particular part of the stream.
- Throw small Twitch/Youtube Stream giveaways throughout the day!
- If it’s Friday, be sure to give away some more epic prizes for your viewers.
- Go on small Twitch/Youtube Stream raffles with your viewers (Play Marbles On Stream)
- Answer questions about yourself, what you do in real life, and why you enjoy doing what you do so much during the stream. (Only if your comfortable doing this)
- Readout loud some of the questions you get through Twitch/Youtube messages (in between other things, like games or what-have-you)
- Make sure to laugh, smile, and have fun throughout the livestream!… after all, it’s your first-ever Twitch/Youtube Stream. Who knows how many people are watching you. Might as well make it fun.
- At the end of your Twitch/Youtube Stream, be sure to thank everyone for watching and participating in your livestream!
6. Do bring on guests to play with you
It’s very simple: You’ll have a lot more fun when playing video games if you play with people… because you get to interact with other human beings. Yep, that’s the entire reason why people have been playing video games for so long: to have fun with other humans! You want to invite people who will bring something positive to your stream or at least not be a terrible player.
It means a lot to have guest players in your stream, the viewers will get the experience of playing with a high-level player. If a player is in a different time zone you can let them play in their free time and when they are available.
Maybe even have a section of the stream dedicated to playing with viewers/subscribers. This could help you gain a lot more subscribers.
7. Don’t Be Afraid To Share Some Funny Stories
Talking about personal things, like your life outside of gaming or other hobbies you have outside of gaming can help people connect with you more and make them feel like they know you better overall!
If you decide to talk about personal things it’s important to do so in moderation. If you go too crazy with them they can turn into cringe-worthy moments for viewers, so be mindful of what you say and how much. Some topics are universal, like speaking about how your day was or sharing funny experiences that happened to you. There are many ways to approach the subject, but it’s best if you start with less personal things and then gradually talk about more.
Obviously don’t give out any personal information that you would not wanting strangers know about you.
8. Don’t Forget To Eat (Food is Fuel)
I love watching 24hr Streamers play games, but I have noticed that many of them forget to eat. It’s not healthy for your body to go without food during a 24hr stream/video session. Keeping this in mind:
- You will be able to continue playing at your best ability (better reaction time, more accuracy…etc)
- The stream will seem less exhausting that way because there are breaks in between. If you just plan on streaming for 24hrs straight without any breaks, you will end up feeling like crap (and not just because of low blood sugar).
- Also make sure to stay hydrated on stream.
9. Don’t Forget To Change Up Your Camera Angles
It may seem like a small thing, but it can make a big difference. To keep things interesting for both yourself and your viewers limit the amount of time you spend looking at yourself talking to the camera. Switching up where you’re sitting/standing and pointing the camera back on yourselves will do wonders to break up the monotony of a long stream.
It’s also a good idea to try out a few different angles during your streams. A wide shot can give you a full view of what’s going on in the room, but it will have limited usefulness if there’s not much going on. You don’t want to be zoomed in on your twitch chat or game screen for too long, but you might want to zoom out and give your viewers a quick overview of the room every once in a while.
There’s nothing wrong with playing games while looking at yourself on camera like many people do (it’s called ‘facecam’), however, some streamers prefer not to watch themselves play and just broadcast the gameplay.
Experiment! The best way to figure out what works for your stream is by trying it all out and seeing which angles work best for you.
10. Don’t try to play more than 1 game at once
You may have already gotten the audience’s attention by playing some other games on stream so far. Switching titles will bring down your viewership numbers as many viewers leave the channel just because they’re not so sure what game you’ll be playing next. This means that even if you’re practicing for another game, don’t switch out of the title you’re currently playing (unless they are different versions of the same game or there is a new expansion for your current game).
11. Don’t Sit With A Bad Posture
This was one thing I didn’t expect during my 24 hour stream. Coming into the final 6 hours of the stream my back started to get fairly sore. I would recommend getting up once per hour during the stream and doing a quick stretch and walk around.
You should also sit with good posture and make sure you have a good chair with lumbar support. You can check out this article for information on how to sit correctly.
Wrapping Up
Hopefully you are now ready to take on your first 24hr stream. I wish you the best of luck and hope that all goes well for you during your stream.
Read More From Get On Stream:
